UPDATE 3 p.m. Tuesday: The pipe was repaired and water was restored to all 300 customers by 9 p.m. Monday, according to Wade Horton, the city’s water division manager.

UPDATE: A 16-inch water main that burst sometime before 6 a.m. Monday left about 300 residents without water.

The pipe, located at the intersection of California Boulevard and Palm Street in San Luis Obispo, is more than 50 years old and scheduled to be replaced next year. The homes without water are on Ella, Breck, Augusta and Bishop streets.

However, the water supply to French Hospital Medical Center, located nearby on Johnson Avenue, was secured, said Wade Horton, water division manager. The surgery center was without water but had enough water in its storage tank to complete the surgeries already scheduled for the day.

The aged cast iron pipe, a high pressure transmission main, delivers half of the city’s water. City crews are excavating the pipe, which is about five feet below the surface, to find the break. They plan to repair it by day’s end.

It is not yet known how much water was lost when the pipe broke.

In May 2010 the same pipe broke near Johnson Avenue leaving French Hospital and more than 1,000 customers without water for more than 16 hours.

ORIGINAL STORY:

City crews are working to fix a water main break at the intersection of California Boulevard and Palm Street in San Luis Obispo, according to a news release.

Crews are expected to be at the intersection a majority of the day, according to the release, and people are asked to avoid the area if possible.